Gutsy Lady Hawks comeback bid falls short in 10 inning affair with Trojans
"Maybe they will come back," said one Hiland fan hopefully.
Maybe, nothing.
The Lady Hawks did come roaring back, but unfortunately their great effort eventually ended in a disappointing 11-10 loss in extra innings.
Give them an "A" for effort, however.
Through four inning,s starter Allison Aleshire had struggled to find her command, walking five hitters, allowing eight hits and giving up eight runs, six of them earned.
Maryssa Mast came on to begin the fifth with her team trailing 8-1, and promptly gave up yet another run to make it 9-1.
With their backs to the wall, Hiland had a choice. Give in or come out swinging.
They chose the latter.
In particular, Renita Yoder came out swinging for the fences, and connected, driving a three-run home run over the wall to spark a four run uprising.
Now it was 9-5, and when Hiland tacked on another run in the sixth, it got even closer.
Still trailing by three heading into the final inning, Hiland again had to answer the call, and did so, getting an RBI single by Tiara Yoder and a two run double by Brittany Wengerd. The Lady Hawks had clawed and scrapped their way back to a 9-9 tie to force extra innings.
Newcomerstown would score again in the eighth, and again Hiland was up against the wall.
But with two outs and nobody on, Hiland's resolve showed up one more time.
Mast singled, and Aleshire followed suit. Up stepped Renita Yoder, who delivered again, cranking a run-scoring single to tie it at 10.
Both teams sailed through the ninth scoreless, but in the 10th inning, Newcomerstown started the inning with a single and a walk. Two batters later they had loaded the bases with one out, before Mast got a huge out without allowing the go-ahead run to score.
Then fate stepped up in a most cruel and unusual way. Mast recorded two quick strikes on the next batter and looked like she was going to escape damage.
On the throw back to the mound, the Trojans runner at third broke for the plate. Catching Hiland completely off guard, the runner slid home safely as Mast's return throw sailed high.
Mast would get out of the inning, but the damage had been done. She would single in the bottom of the 10th, but the magic had been used up, the comeback failing just shy of what would have been one of the more memorable comeback wins in recent memory.
Renita Yoder would end the game with three hits, scoring twice and driving home four. Mast also recorded three hits and scored three times, and also went the final six innings, giving up three runs and striking out a pair while walking one. Hiland had 12 hits in the contest, while the Trojans banged out a whopping 17 against the two Hiland pitchers.